Metra will take out one track out of service on its Electric Line to accommodate a major construction project to increase the line’s capacity. Track 3, which is normally used for inbound trains, will be taken out of service from Oct. 14 to Oct. 27. During the outage, passengers boarding inbound trains at five Metra Electric stations close to downtown will access trains via temporary platforms. The work will also result in some rush period delays and a Sunday schedule will be in effect on the next three Saturdays during the month.
The construction work is increasing the line’s capacity because the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which operates the South Shore Line and is paying for most of the work, is expanding its service in northwest Indiana and wants to run more trains downtown. During that three-week stretch in October, all inbound trains will run on Track 4 from 65th St. to downtown Chicago.
Metra notes the 47th St., 27th St., 18th St., McCormick Place and Van Buren Street stations have island platforms, with Tracks 1 and 2 on the west side and Track 3 and 4 on the east side. For passengers at those stations to get from the island platform to the doors of an inbound train on Track 4, Metra will install temporary bridge platforms across the out-of-service Track 3. The Museum Campus/11th St. Station and stations south of 47th St. have a different layout, with Track 4 directly accessible from the platforms. The McCormick Place and Van Buren Street stations will still be accessible to persons with disabilities; the other three stations will continue to be inaccessible.
The agency notes that because inbound trains normally run on two tracks and will only be able to operate on one during the work period, passengers on inbound rush period trains should expect delays of up to 20 minutes. Metra will have members of its customer response team at all five stations to assist customers with the temporary platforms in the first few days of the process.
